Who Will Really Suffer The Little Children?
By Thomas D. Segel
July 10, 2009
Try to find out how many orphaned children there are in the United States or across the globe and you are in for an impossible task. For some strange reason, the bean counters to this world have never thought that counting these children in need was a very worthwhile endeavor.
There is an ancient proverb that says, "Children are the bridge to heaven." Today untold millions of people are abandoning that bridge and disregarding those children in need. There are far too many children in need relative to caring people who will reach out and touch their lives.
Statistics are very unreliable and almost impossible to resolve into a fixed number. One international agency says the figure is 13 million orphans worldwide. UNICEF places the number at 210 million. The reality is somewhere between these two numbers, but most authorities agree that today there are somewhere between 130 and 150 million orphaned children in the world. Most of them are receiving little to no care.
The statistics out of Africa are the most appalling. Every year more than 2 million children in Africa become orphans. Much of this is due to the ravages of war, but AIDS alone produces an African orphan every 15 seconds.
Because of the sheer volume of orphans in that country, there are never enough people willing to adopt all of those seeking homes. Only about one out of every nine children can expect they will be adopted, which means 14 to 15 million children in Africa will grow up outside a loving family.
In Russia today about 700,000-orphaned children are living without parental care. The estimate is most of these children will age out of orphanages. From this body of children 10% to 15% are expected to commit suicide before the age of 18. Sixty percent of the girls will turn to prostitution. Seventy percent of the boys will turn to crime. Most of those remaining can expect to accept work offers that will lead to their being sold as slaves.
Obtaining information on orphans is extremely difficult in China. There is no official number available. Save The Children Foundation did reveal there are 573,000-orphaned children under the age of 18 living in China. However, only 69,000 children are now in Chinese orphanages. Children living with relatives total about 293,000 who receiving government support ranging from a low of $13 a year to a high of $500 a year per child. This still leaves nearly 211,000-orphaned children unaccounted for in China.
The term "orphan" is rarely used in the United States. Perhaps that is the reason why so little is known about the status of these children. We do know there are more than 500,000 children in foster homes, with some of these households of suspect quality. We also know that about 120,000 of these children are considered to be "waiting', which is code for being eligible for adoption.
As with orphaned children around the world, their futures are very bleak. Criminal activity, prostitution, homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration and suicide will impact the lives of the vast majority of these children and they will never learn the comfort of a loving home.
National and international government agencies, along with the many resources of the United Nations seem to have no realistic idea of how to resolve the worldwide despair of all the orphaned children. Perhaps it is time for service organizations such as Rotary International, Lions International or other similar organizations to take up the cause and suffer thee little children unto them. They might even think about combining their resources in a united effort. One thing is certain; they couldn't be any less effective than the many governmental organizations that have been so ineptly involved for decades.
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.
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